Acclaimed Canadian author Yann Martel has just released a new novel: The High Mountains of Portugal. He sat down with Upstream’s Ryan Meili to discuss his new book, the importance of story, and his hopes for Canada’s future.

Isolation, addiction, crime and homelessness are a vicious cycle all tied up in poverty.

Kingston Helps was born from the Poverty Reduction health group to provide a place for one to find any service one may need regardless of the position they find themselves in. It's an organization dedicated not only to uplifting those in poverty, but improving our understanding of the causes and effects of the social determinants of health.

Upstream founder Dr. Ryan Meili recently interviewed Clive Weighill, president of The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, whose many accomplishments span forty years of service.

Together they explored the many commonalities between the social determinants of health and the social determinants of crime and justice. At the heart of these challenges, is why Canada's public and its decision makers tend to look downstream in both health and justice, when there are such promising alternatives.

Trish Hennessy knows inequality. The founding director of the CCPA's project to examine increasing income inequality in Canada recently gave a Walrus Talk on resilience, and the key importance of making a living wage for weathering life's challenges.

She also sat down with Upstream founder Ryan Meili, to discuss why living wages are so important in Canada for healthy lives, healthy communities and a healthy economy.

In most developed parts of the world, education is considered an investment — not an expense.

Dr. Pak Tee Ng recently spoke at a convention of Canadian educators, and explained that in his home city-state Singapore, education never suffers cut backs in times of economic downturn. In fact, school funding often gets increased — reinforcing commitment to a sustainable future.

Andrew Hatala has been running a core neighbourhood project for the past two years, together with Kelley Bird-Naytowhow and Tamara Pearl in Saskatoon.

They wanted to explore the relationships between resilience, well-being and culture among Indigenous youth. They discovered some exciting and inspiring results from these kids — on display as a photographic and cultural experience at the SCYAP gallery, from December 3rd-18th.

Canadian Roots Exchange (CRE) is a national organization with a mission to ‘build bridges’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in Canada, by facilitating dialogue and strengthening relationships through leadership programs, to promote respect, understanding and reconciliation.

We know Aboriginal status determines health outcomes in a disproportionately negative way, compared to those of non-Indigenous peoples. One way we can work toward changing this injustice, is through these approaches for intercultural understanding.